Council votes to close Children's Pool

Childrens' Pool closed for pupping season

The San Diego City Council voted Monday to close Children’s Pool beach in La Jolla for five months each year during seal pupping season, concluding that efforts to educate the public about seal protection haven’t worked.

“We’re sending a message,” Councilwoman Marti Emerald said. “The people who go poking wild animals need more than education. I don’t understand the mentality of people who would abuse an animal while it’s giving birth.”

The new ordinance, which passed on a 6-3 vote, bans public access to the beach between Dec. 15 and May 15 to protect breeding harbor seals and their pups. The ordinance outlaws entry to the beach by chaining the lower stairs of the breakwater and posting signs notifying beachgoers of the ban.

Yes
57% (1711)

No
43% (1292)

3003 total votes.

People who violate the closure could face misdemeanor penalties of up to $1,000 or six months in jail — or infraction fees of $250 to $500 — along with civil penalties, said Chris Zirkle, a deputy director for the city’s park and recreation department.

By contrast, a thin demarcation rope set on the sand in recent years has set voluntary guidelines to separate beachgoers from the seals during the pupping months. Last spring, the city also imposed a nighttime closure of the pool.

The new law is the strongest action to date aimed at protecting the colony of harbor seals at the picturesque site, and it's almost certain to generate further conflict in a years-long struggle over safeguards for the seals versus people's access to the beach.

Proponents of shared access described peaceful interactions between seals and people, saying the animals are acclimated to human contact. They said banning access would eliminate one of the few safe entry points for divers and other ocean-goers, and set a precedent for other beach closures in the region.

“If you go ahead and close the Children’s Pool, what are you doing to do to prevent the closure of other beaches that seals are currently on?” asked La Jolla resident Mike Costello. “We oppose criminalizing beach use.”

Instead, they said, the site should be upgraded to improve access for children, the elderly and disabled.

Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, along with Councilmen Mark Kersey and Scott Sherman, voted against the ordinance. Lightner said community groups in La Jolla oppose the closure, and said the city hadn’t adequately analyzed impacts to surrounding marine life.

Supporters of the closure, however, played video footage showing harassment of pregnant seals and pups, noting that those actions can cause premature birth, miscarriage or abandonment.

“Some are committed out of ignorance, others regrettably, are committed out of malice,” said speaker Jim Fitzgerald.

Banning people from the site during pupping months would reduce those risks and impose clear penalties for violations, speakers argued.

“The guide rope is inadequate to separate people from seals,” said speaker John Lomac. “Everybody wants that petting zoo, selfie moment.”

The ordinance may be controversial in San Diego, but it’s hardly ground-breaking; out of 17 seal rookeries in mainland California, Children’s Pool is one of only two without such restrictions, said Adrian Kwiatkowski, executive director of Friends of the Seals.

The measure still needs final approval from the state Coastal Commission, which will likely hear the item at its August meeting, city staff said Monday.

The council had delayed voting on the closure in October, after the Coastal Commission warned that it would not support the original reasoning for the measure.

Although the council had aimed to declare the beach an “environmentally sensitive area,” Coastal Commission program analyst Kanani Brown said that designation would bar nearly all public access to the beach during all times of the year, something the agency wouldn’t support.

Brown said the beach could be listed under a different section of the California Coastal Act that grants special protection to “areas and species of special biological or economic significance.” That designation, she wrote, would better address the seal rookery and allow broader public access outside of each pupping season.

Children’s Pool, constructed in 1931 to allow safe ocean access to local children, has been the subject of controversy since seals began congregating there.

Over the years, the debate has played out in state and federal courts, in a string of City Council votes, and in the Legislature. The dispute has also generated media headlines across the country, along with jokes on late-night TV shows. At the beach itself, there have been numerous skirmishes between the opposing sides.

The dispute has generated national attention with litigation, dozens of rallies on both sides over the years and numerous attempts by the City Council and state Legislature to forge compromise.

In March, proponents of closing off the site circulated video footage showing two women sitting on, kicking and pushing the seals. The ranger on duty at the site counted 67 instances when visitors caused harbor seals to flee the beach for the water, according to a city report.